🧊 Pool Salt
high-purity sodium chloride (solar or mechanically evaporated) · updated August 2026
Quick answer: add 8.3 lb per 10,000 gallons to raise Salt 100 ppm. Ideal Salt: 2,700–3,400 ppm (check your cell's manual). Add ½–⅔ first, circulate, retest.
Safety — read first
- • Use pool-grade salt only (no iodized or rock salt with anti-caking agents).
- • Broadcast into the shallow end and brush until dissolved; keep the chlorinator OFF for 24 hours.
For saltwater-generator pools: most cells want ~3,200 ppm. A typical 10,000-gallon fresh fill needs roughly 265 lb of salt to get there.
Side effects: Salt doesn't evaporate or degrade — it only leaves via splash-out, backwash and drainage. Add slowly; you can't easily take it back out.
Dosing chart
| Pool size | +100 ppm | +200 ppm | +500 ppm | +1000 ppm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,000 gal | 4.2 lb | 8.3 lb | 21 lb | 42 lb |
| 10,000 gal | 8.3 lb | 17 lb | 42 lb | 83 lb |
| 15,000 gal | 12 lb | 25 lb | 62 lb | 125 lb |
| 20,000 gal | 17 lb | 33 lb | 83 lb | 166 lb |
| 30,000 gal | 25 lb | 50 lb | 125 lb | 249 lb |
Calculate your exact dose
1 · Your pool's volume
Working with 20,000 gallons
2 · What are you fixing?
Ideal Salt: 2,700–3,400 ppm (check your cell's manual). Adjusting pH? Doses aren't linear — see soda ash / muriatic acid.
3 · Add one of these
Estimates from standard label dosing, to raise Salt by 800 ppm in 20,000 gallons. Add ½–⅔ of the dose first, circulate 4–6 hours, retest, then top up. Never mix chemicals with each other.
FAQ
How much pool salt do I add per 10,000 gallons?+
8.3 lb per 10,000 gallons will raise Salt 100 ppm. Scale linearly with your pool size — the chart on this page covers 5,000 to 30,000 gallons.
What does pool salt do to a pool?+
For saltwater-generator pools: most cells want ~3,200 ppm. A typical 10,000-gallon fresh fill needs roughly 265 lb of salt to get there. Side effect to know: Salt doesn't evaporate or degrade — it only leaves via splash-out, backwash and drainage. Add slowly; you can't easily take it back out.
Is pool salt safe to handle?+
Use pool-grade salt only (no iodized or rock salt with anti-caking agents). Broadcast into the shallow end and brush until dissolved; keep the chlorinator OFF for 24 hours.